After a good start to the season where Jules Cluzel won in Buriram and took the lead in the World Championship – tied with Randy Krummenacher – the rest was more difficult. But Jules has just won the Donington race this weekend in unstoppable fashion. Let's take stock with his team manager Christophe Guyot.
After two brilliant first races, Cluzel had more difficulty with only one third place in five races. What was the reason for this poor performance?
“There were in fact two races in which we had difficulty finding the settings. They were those of Aragón and Jerez. In these two races, we felt a little behind, but moderately because for example in Jerez we finished 0.3 behind second place.”
“It was especially at Assen and Imola that we were kept from victory. In Assen, we finished fourth, but 0.5 behind the winner, after Raffaele de Rosa wasted a lot of time for Jules. At Imola, it was a false neutral which forced him to go through the gravel trap.”
“With these two racing events, there were two circuits where we struggled with the settings, and where we were excluded from the podium for Imola and from victory for Jerez.”
Last weekend at Donington, it was the “rebirth”: Jules clearly dominated the first two free practice sessions, then almost achieved pole position. Have you discovered a secret that guarantees the efficiency of the Yamaha R6?
“Yes, we worked on a lot of fine adjustments because that’s where it comes down to it. We realized that on two circuits where we were in difficulty, it was at the end of the race.
“And despite the victory of Buriram and second place at Phillip Island, we saw that compared to our opponents, we were in a little more difficulty over the last three or four laps of the race. Despite everything, this was the analysis we had been doing since the beginning of the year.”
“We have always performed well and there is not a single race where Jules has not been in the lead or with the leading men. But there were times when we felt that in terms of grip, we were perhaps losing a little more than the others.”
“It was especially on the suspensions, electronics and go-around that we worked a lot. And from the outset we managed to be efficient with Jules from the first practice session on Friday.”
In the race, Jules won magnificently at Donington, without ever really being worried by his opponents. Was your strategy impeccable?
“Yes, I think that at this level Jules was very clever. He is extremely intelligent. He has exceptional racing intelligence.”
“It is true that like all brilliant drivers, they all dream of going in front and leaving their friends behind, but Jules has a very good knowledge of his opponents. In the race he managed very well not to hit the bike and the tires too much. He managed the event very well, and from the start he applied exactly what he had decided to do, that is to say, to put everything in place with the sole objective of winning in the end. ".
There are 4 races left in the Championship and Jules is 41 points behind leader Krummenacher. What is your state of mind ?
“It’s simple: You have to win races! There is no other possible choice. You have to know how to win races without rushing, which is what Jules was able to do at Donington. That is to say without going under pressure, without telling yourself that you absolutely have to win, because otherwise you could make a mistake.”
“It’s a very difficult exercise, the balance is complicated to find between the desire to win and not making a mistake. This is what makes Jules strong, adding that if we want Jules to strengthen, we must also strengthen Corentin. This is the strength of the team opposite: They have two fast riders, which helps to get the bike ready more quickly.”
Corentin Perolari started the season well until Imola where he fractured his collarbone. He returned very well to Donington with eighth place, fifteen seconds behind the winner, his teammate Jules Cluzel. Is this a relief for the team?
“Yes, because even if there are fifteen seconds to the finish, during the race he was on par with the best for many laps. Krummenacher for example, stayed behind him for six laps without being able to pass him.”
“Since his broken collarbone, he had a very good sixth time during the warmup in Misano, which was a resurrection. Afterwards he was tense, uncomfortable, and simply not performing well. At Donington he was not very comfortable on Friday and in qualifying, but in the race he found the resources very encouraging. What we observed at the end of last season came to life in this race.”
Photos © Mateusz Jagielski, Yamaha Racing, worldsbk.com, GMT94 Yamaha
